Before Twitter and Facebook, activists used the streets as a public forum to express their creativity and organize for political goals, with their messages wheatpasted right onto lampposts and walls. It was the era of ‘xerocracy,’ and the entire city were gallery walls. Nowhere was this form of expression more prevalent than the East Village. From posters expressing stark opposition to building demolitions, to stencils addressing the AIDS epidemic and more, such expressions of conscience and conflict were everywhere. In this panel discussion we will hear from some of the artists of that time, who are still creating today, including Seth Tobocman, Anton van Dalen, Kristin Reed and Jerry Wade.